The Greek government is limited in its abilities to use fiscal policy to stimulate its economy because Greece is attached to the euro. Germany governs how and when an expansion of the euro will take place, and the Germans are mostly worried about inflation, which is not a problem that Greece has. Attachment to the euro has created a disaster for Greece. Now the government there is preparing to leave the Eurozone. Staying in the eurozone redistributes income from Greek citizens to foreign bankers because the government needs to borrow money in order to stimulate the economy, and the terms of the borrowing has been onerous for the citizens of Greece since linkage to the euro has pushed the nation into a deep and long lasting recession since 2009.

Exit polls in Greece suggest the Greek people have decided get rid of their government of the bankers. The government has virtually no ability to engage in fiscal policy to stimulate the economy because they’re tied into the euro, which is controlled by the high powered Germans. The euro is a failure since the Greeks have been forced to cut their social safety net in order to secure loans from banksters to pay off bonds that are coming due. The result of this “austerity madness” has been a worsening economic crisis, further deepening the economic disaster, and ordinary folks are paying the price. Now they’re justifiably mad.

A deal has been reached between the Greek government and the rest of the Eurozone. Greece will get a series of loans that should save it temporarily from defaulting on government bonds; the deal will also ensure Greece will move deeper into misery and that the current recession that began five years ago will get worse.

Unemployment is already at 20 percent. It will grow because the new austerity measures include slashing pensions and lowering the minimum wage from 751 to 580 Euros per month. That’s called slashing the demand for goods and services. That’s called increasing misery. The Greek government is facing insolvency, dissolution and probably revolution in the coming months.

The Euro is good for the European banksters, but bad for the people of Greece. The Greek politicians know this.

President Obama has been lucky the weak American economy hasn’t gone back into recession, at least not so far. Under Obama’s watch, the economy has even managed to create jobs, although at a pace that any previous business expansion beats, except for the dismal record of George W. Bush. But can the so-called business recovery survive a global downturn and fiscal conservatism on Capitol Hill?

The fluctuations of the financial markets and the relentless round of make-or-break euro-summits gripped the attention in 2011, but this will be the year when the shockwaves are felt by millions of people in Europe and beyond.

Since its conception, the European Union has been a haven for those seeking refuge from war, persecution and poverty in other parts of the world. But as the EU faces what Angela Merkel has called its toughest hour since the second world war, the tables appear to be turning. A new stream of migrants is leaving the continent. It threatens to become a torrent if the debt crisis continues to worsen.